Some of the most beautiful homes in Idaho’s Treasure Valley and all over the Western United States have travertine floors in kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, and other areas.
Travertine is a sedimentary rock, namely calcite or aragonite (calcium carbonate), which is formed by mineral deposits when water travels through a limestone bed. As this water pushes through the limestone beds, it leaches some of the limestone to create voids, which is why travertine tile has holes. Usually these are filled, which can happen at the factory during processing or at the time of installation during the grouting process. Travertine can also be installed unfilled, if desired.
Aragonite and calcite are not particularly hard minerals. On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, calcite is a 3. You can compare that to granite, which is composed of feldspar, quartz, and other minerals and lands about a 6 or 7 on the Mohs scale. Talc is lowest on the scale at 1, and diamond is currently highest at 10. The Mohs scale system rates materials by their scratch resistance; harder minerals will scratch softer minerals. The numbers only indicate which materials will scratch each other; the numbers themselves do not indicate how hard a material is. So, in conclusion, anything with a higher rating than calcite can scratch travertine. A human fingernail has a hardness of only 2.5, but a copper penny is about 3.5, and a knife blade around 5.5.
So you see it is very easy to determine that there are many household items that could possibly scratch the surface of a travertine tile floor. However, that is not necessarily a big problem when you’re considering your floor’s appearance. When selecting a travertine for a floor, the surface finish is more important. Polished surfaces will scratch and show any damage more clearly, as well as being less slip-resistant. Honed surfaces are better, but will still show deeper scratches. Brushed, antiqued, or tumbled finishes will still scratch but not show the damage as easily. These rougher surfaces also offer the best slip-resistance. It all goes back to light reflection – the smoother or glossier the surface, the easier the imperfections can be seen. A naturally tumbled or brushed travertine will absorb new scratches into its over-all appearance, and can take a lot of wear before anything is obvious. Travertine can also be re-finished to a like-new surface with the right equipment. It is, after all, natural stone clear through!
Comparing travertine to a manufactured porcelain tile, it’s important to realize that more care and maintenance is required to maintain the beauty of a travertine floor. Tile manufacturers have been trying a for long time to make products that look like natural stone, but it is very difficult to replicate the beauty of travertine, marble, granite, and other rocks. Porcelain also has the disadvantage that if it breaks or scratches, you cannot simply polish it back – most tiles have a colorant on the outside surface that does not permeate into the rest of the tile.
So if you’re considering a travertine floor for your kitchen, make sure to become educated on the maintenance required for up-keep, and work on eliminating potential ways that the floor can be damaged, scratched or stained. We’ll be happy to continue to answer your questions. Some of the first considerations for you are wet areas, pets, heavy traffic areas, and whether hard things are likely to be dropped from a height. Most of these can be worked with in one way or another. Some sealers provide not only stain resistance, but scratch resistance; travertine should always be sealed after installation.
There is nothing that can compare to the beauty of a stone floor anywhere you travel the world; whether it be Europe, the United States, or elsewhere, stone floors are everywhere; and some of these floors have been in place for hundreds of years. Manufactured porcelain tile may be durable – but will it look as warm and inviting as your natural stone travertine floor?
Roger Schumacher
Schumacher Tile & Stone
September 16th, 2009 at 3:36 am
ooh yes it is best choice for any one for using Travertine tiles n the Kitchen…. last month i also use it in my kitchen it become very beautiful … So do not waist time….go and enjoy it glorious beauty.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Such rocky floor definitely looking great. We should use travertine.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Very useful post and info! Thanks for giving me some great ideas!
September 27th, 2009 at 10:08 am
travertine kitchen and wash room floors are outlawed in Massachusetts and in many other states. The code states porous flooring materials are not to be used in those locations
September 28th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Thanks for your extremely informative article. I found the scratch resistance rating system particularly interesting.
I work with travertine also, but for the outdoors, and mostly travertine pavers. I’ve written articles on travertine pavers and also travvertine stone…explaining the differences between honed, filled, etc. Many people are confused about this.
I’m sure that much of your information applies to travertine pavers which are used outside, but are usually thicker than regular travertine stone used indoors.
Once again, very nice article.
October 12th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Thank you all for your comments!
@rick
That’s very interesting, I would be curious to learn more about where those regulations are in effect. It’s always a good idea to check with your builder or remodeler, and they should be able to help you find out what the law says with regard to your area.
@Susan
Yes, the scratch resistance rating is pretty cool, isn’t it? Thanks for reading our blog – I surfed over to your site, and it looks very informative! We don’t do a whole lot of work outside, but we have worked some with pavers, etc. I’ll be sure to use your blog as a resource in the future!
Thanks,
Heidi
October 31st, 2009 at 11:31 am
Nice examples of flooring. Though in the first picture I would have chosen a different color to enlighten the furniture. Rgds.
November 1st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
There’s a floor that will last forever, and look good with almost any furniture style. Nice post.
April 20th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Many thanks. My spouse and i really enjoy looking through well written articles and posts relating to dining room furnishings and together with various designing strategies. I am just getting ready to undertake spring redecorating, and am always searching for good info to motivate me.
May 28th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
ooh yes it is best choice for any one for using Travertine tiles n the Kitchen…. last month i also use it in my kitchen it become very beautiful … So do not waist time….go and enjoy it glorious beauty.
September 15th, 2010 at 2:05 am
great blog thank you
January 18th, 2011 at 9:40 am
A lot of people don’t know about travertine for use in the home but it really can be an ideal material. It’s hard wearing but it also looks good and comes in a range of colours for you to match it to the decor in your home. Not that expensive, either.
April 15th, 2011 at 2:11 am
Ive never used travertine before, but it sounds like a great product from the reviews it has been receiving from the posters above.
I’ll have to use it on my floor, thanks very much.
April 18th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
This one is very good news,I’m also one of the people who doesn’t know this,it’s great to read this post.I will try this also in my dream house,just having a plan to have my own and settle down.My girlfriend would really love to know that I have a plan to marry her,you know,just a surprise to her.A very big thank you because of this post,now i have a design to my dream house.
April 27th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Travertine is really awesome on a house. My friend’s house has this and it’s really beautiful.
May 10th, 2011 at 1:49 am
This travertine is really beautiful and reminds me a lot of sandstone, which is common in South Africa. They seem to have the same texture, even though their chemicals are not the same. The sandstone is also cut into into tiles about 10-15 mm. thick and different rectangular sizes. They are used both as floor and wall tiles. Sandstone contains plant fossils (like ferns) and if you’re lucky you can have “fossil tiles” in your home. Would that also be the case with travertine?
May 25th, 2011 at 10:41 am
I haven’t seen much in the way of fossils in the normal travertines – however, they have have some very interesting patterns, probably as a result of various heat and pressure changes while the limestone was formed. There are some similar tiles with fossils in them, but they are usually polished instead of honed, to give the fossils the best showcase.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Wow this is very beautiful. It would be great for my kitchen. I will use it to beautify my kitchen floor.
June 8th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Natural stone floors are gorgeous and add so much accent and character to any home. I wasn’t well-versed in travertine stone floors, but they look exquisite—they must be very expensive. I like that if you scratch it you can polish it back where with Porcelain it’s almost impossible. Even though travertine requires more care and maintenance, it’s a small price to pay considering how elegant and beautiful it is.
June 14th, 2011 at 7:25 am
I have decided to use travertine on my kitchen floor of our home. But the constructor of our house said it is not actually recommended to use it on the kitchen because of its sensitivity from scratches and stains. So I did a little research and found your post and so we now have our travertine kitchen flooring and our kitchen looks stunning with it!
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Travertine looks amazing in the kitchen. We used it recently to give our kitchen a bit of a lift – the difference it made was incredible. The marble tiles are out in the trash now!
December 1st, 2011 at 7:55 am
I don’t know what to tell you. My back doesn’t like tiled floors and I can’t stand the cold hardness of granite much less the maintenance. But people with kids and big dogs often like tile. So its always sort of a crap shoot. I think you have to consider what type of house it is and what’s available in the neighborhood if your concerned about resale. If not concerned about more immediate resale – get what you like. Years down the road things are going to look dated no matter what.